Deposit and Disconnection Code

In 2011 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved a mandatory code of conduct that applies to all home telephone services (residential primary exchange service) in areas where prices are no longer regulated by the CRTC, which means most service areas in Canada.

As explained in the CRTC’s detailed regulatory policy, the purpose of the Deposit and Disconnection Code is to provide clear obligations about when and how a service provider may disconnect service for failure to pay, and obligations about deposits the service provider may require.

At the request of the CRTC, the CCTS administers the Deposit and Disconnection Code. This means that since it came to effect on May 14, 2012, the CCTS applies the Code to resolve complaints it receives from home telephone customers, and also tracks and reports on violations of the Code.

The CCTS also publishes and periodically updates an Annotated Guide to the Deposit and Disconnection Code, which is a section-by-section discussion of the CCTS’ approach to interpreting and applying the provisions based on its experience with the numerous complaints it has investigated.